Art Center of Corpus Christi celebrates 39th anniversary

CORPUS CHRISTI - When you think of our essential, local art institutions, the Art Center of Corpus Christi is certainly high on the list. Its prominence, however, doesn't keep people from getting a little confused. Let me settle this once and for all: The Art Center is the large, yellow stucco building across from Coopers Alley L-Head not to be confused with the Art Museum of South Texas, the white architectural marvel at the very end of Shoreline Boulevard.

Officials from both organizations have reported patrons walking into one building believing that they're in or intending to be at the other.

Ah, the burden of having so many essential, local art institutions. You just can't keep them in order.

This week, the Art Center of Corpus Christi (the yellow one) celebrates their 39th year of providing educational programs and arts exhibition with two events: a trip back to the 1970s and a decades-in-the-making exploration of Santa Clause.

On Thursday night, the Art Center hosts Pop!, a fundraiser designed to send you back into the 1970s. POP! is a fun, casual evening of art, music, disco dancing, tons of food and a silent auction. One of the evening's biggest highlights will be Mayor Joe Adame, City Council representatives Chris Adler and Mark Scott, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi President Flavius Killebrew, Principal Galen Hoffstadt, and Corpus Christi Independent School District Superintendent Scott Elliff's live creation of 1970's-themed paintings that will be auctioned. The event is open to the public and a wonderful opportunity to honor one of the city's backbone art organizations.

Then on Saturday, the gallery performs a quick reset to open Visions of Santa, a Christmas-themed art exhibit. The exhibit will display artist Billy L. Keen's 38 year-old fascination with Santa Claus. Keen has painted a different portrait of Santa Claus every year since 1974. He began this tradition by painting two separate images for his two sons. By the third year, it seemed like a fun thing to do and by the fourth year it was a full blown tradition. Each painting is a reflection of the events of that year and how they influenced the artist. Each Santa has a personality and emotion all its own.

The Art Center will host an opening reception at 11 a.m. Saturday where you can meet the artist and view the latest exhibition. Officially kicking off the holidays, Father Christmas himself will be on hand to greet the entire family and take photos.

Congratulations, Art Center, on your 39 years of city-changing, devotion to the arts. We can't wait to see what you have in store for us next year.

IF YOU GO

POP!, a 1970s-themed fundraiser

When: 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday

Cost: $100/general admission

Visions of Santa exhibit and photos with Father Christmas

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Cost: Free

Both events will be at the Art Center of Corpus Christi, 100 N. Shoreline Blvd.